Pros

Good audio quality.
Features both live and curated radio stations.
Free.

Cons

Very busy interface.
Users can't create playlists.

Bottom Line

iHeartRadio combines live radio and curated stations in a single, intriguing streaming music service.

22 Sep 2017Jeffrey L. Wilson

The streaming music space is incredibly competitive. Not only are there many services that deliver quality audio and extensive catalogs, but companies will do whatever it takes to win over your ears. Such is the case with Clear Channel's iHeartRadio, a free service (with premium options) that combines Editors' Choice Slacker Radio's customization features with SiriusXM Internet Radio's live radio, and mixes the late Songza's often-copied, mood-centric collections into the blend. In short, iHeartRadio tries to be a music site that has something for everyone, though it looks clunky in places and lacks some features that would help it do the job.

It's Live Radio

Like the excellent SiriusXM Internet Radio, iHeartRadio is tightly focused on live, free radio streams. Its homepage prominently displays a grid that highlights Comedy, Jazz, News & Talk, Rock, Sports, and other categories of content. Clicking a panel and then the Get Stations icon lets iHeartRadio know the genres that you want to hear.

For example, after I clicked the Hip Hop and Sports icon, iHeartRadio fed me related live radio stations, such as New York City's famed Hot 97 and AM 570 Sports. Sadly, this main part of the site has an unattractive, aged design that looks like it was built a decade ago. iHeartRadio is in desperate need of a visual refresh that would put in on par with Slacker Radio and Spotify.

As with SiriusXM Internet Radio, iHeartRadio's stations display the song and show title that's currently playing, which is a nice touch. Clicking the Scan icon causes iHeartradio to "turn the dial" and dig up other related stations, which aids in the music-discovery process.

As a track plays, you can view its lyrics or a bio page for the artist in question. You must create an account, or sign in with your Facebook or Google credentials, however, to like or ban tracks, listen to Artist Radio stations, or view your Listen History. There's also an option to buy music tracks from Amazon Music, iTunes, and Google Play Music, if you like the idea of purchasing your tunes for playback any time. Unlike SiriusXM Internet Radio, iHeartRadio lacks the ability to rewind live radio.

It's Curated Radio

In the past, I knocked iHeartRadio for lacking features that are commonplace in the streaming music space, such as offline listening and unlimited skips. Those issues are no more, as iHeartRadio now offers two new premium plans: iHeartRadio Plus and the Napster-powered iHeartRadio All Access.

The $4.99 per month iHeartRadio Plus tier boasts unlimited skips, on-demand playback, the ability to instantly replay tracks, and the ability save radio songs to your playlist. The $9.99 per month iHeartRadio All Access tier builds upon the Plus plan by adding offline playback, the ability to create unlimited playlists, and "unlimited access to millions of songs." The premium prices are close to those charged by the Editors' Choice award-winning Slacker Radio, which starts at $3.99 per month.

iHeartRadio recognizes tracks from live radio and lets you save their streaming audio equivalents to your Android device. In other words, it doesn't let you record live radio as SiriusXM Internet Radio does, so you can't preserve those classic Mike's On: Francesa on the FAN moments. Still, I find it pretty cool that I could add Roxette's "Listen To Your Heart" to my music library as soon as I recognized the track's opening notes. In fact, I ditched the live stream and listened to the full song from the saved file.

Unfortunately, iHeartRadio also lacks money-saving family plan options, something that Apple Music, Spotify, and a few other streaming music services offer.

Like competing services, iHeartRadio has dozens of curated artist stations. There are 20 genre stations, and more than 400,000 artists and 15 million songs in the iHeartRadio catalog. I was able to find both popular (The White Stripes) and obscure artists (The Dirtbombs) with ease.

You can whip up your own station by clicking the Perfect For tab, which makes Songza-like suggestions based on your mood and/or time of day. There are lots of categories including "Impressing a Coworker," "Drama Club Warmup," and "Engineers." I selected "Workday Variety" in hopes of getting a pick-me-up. iHeartRadio presented 15 subcategories, such as The Alternative Project and Rock Nation, which featured up-tempo tracks by Jack White, Anthrax, The Offspring, and other grinders. Your mileage may vary, but the list delivered what I wanted.

The iHeartRadio Experience

I enjoyed hiccup-free tunes over my home and office wireless signals, though the 128Kbps Artist Radio stations sounded a bit better than the live radio stations. Regardless, neither set of streams were as crisp as Tidal's $19.99 per month Premium offering that features delicious, non-compressed 1,411 Kbps FLAC audio, but that's to be expected. That said, iHeartRadio's artist stations are on par with the audio content you'd enjoy from non-Tidal sources. The Dirtbombs' "Sirens" crisply rocked my eardrums. iHeartRadio has a solid catalog, but it has a few holes and quirks, too. It boasts The Dirtbombs' Ultraglide In Black, but lacks Taylor Swift's popular 1989.

iHeartRadio also has news articles and event listings. The informative News section fills you in on music-related happenings (such as William Hung's American Idol return or new album announcements), while the Events section showcases lineups and highlights of iHeartRadio-sponsored live shows from across the country (such as the iHeartRadio Music Awards and the iHeartRadio Country Festival). Still, I prefer Tidal's original, feature-length articles, which give more insight into the artists or bands that matter to me.

Will You Heart iHeartRadio?

If you like both live radio and curated stations, you'll like iHeartRadio. The service manages to capture radio's spontaneity (complete with audio ads and annoying DJs), while giving users options to create custom stations. Still, iHeartRadio lacks many of the features you'd find in the best streaming music services, including an ad-free premium tier, lifestyles content, and playlists. For a more complete package, check out SiriusXM Internet Radio or Slacker Radio, our Editors' Choices.

About the Author

For more than a decade, Jeffrey L. Wilson has penned gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for a variety of publications, including 1UP, 2D-X, The Cask, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. He now brings his knowledge and skillset to PCMag as Senior Analyst.

When he isn't staring at a monitor (or two) and churning out Web hosting, music, utilities, and video game copy, Jeffrey mentors, practices Jeet Kune Do, blogs, podcasts, and speaks at the occasional con. He also collects vinyl and greatly enjoys a craft brew.